where n is number of disaccharide units n = 0 in a tetrasaccharide (dp4) n = 1 in a hexasaccharide (dp6) n = 2 in an octasaccharide (dp8) etc…

Uronic acid (∆UA) at the non-reducing ends of the oligosaccharides has a C4-C5 double bond as a result of endolytic scission. The main disaccharide in the original dermatan sulfate was IdoA – GalNAc,4S (88%) with minor quantities of 6-sulfated and 2,4 disulfated units (5% and 7% respectively) also present.